Departments

The American Society for Automation in Pharmacy held its 2015 Annual Conference at The Don CeSar in St. Pete Beach, Fla. A record turnout benefited from a fast-paced, CE-approved speaker agenda and from the opportunity to network with peers and partners.

A new year is upon us. Soon we all will be getting meeting notices: conventions, alumni reunions, CE meetings, etc. I have been to an awful lot of these gatherings and the different roles I've taken have given me different perspectives.

With the new year, we want to start with what we have seen in 2014 and then look ahead for this year. 2014 was a critically important year for pharmacists, in the form of H.R. 4190, the legislation that is poised to bring provider status to pharmacists.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has adopted a new strategic plan outlining the federal government’s IT vision and mission. The plan’s goals are to keep up the momentum of health IT adoption and, at the same time, improve IT implementation beyond hospitals and physician practices.

The National Community Pharmacists Association held its 2014 Annual Convention and Trade Exposition in Austin, Texas. Over 3,000 community pharmacists were on hand for pre-convention programming that included the Saturday technology seminar, extensive CE programming during the convention, and an exhibit hall with over 240 vendors. A wide range of technology providers was among that group.

Speed Script hosted its biennial user’s conference and trade show at the Hilton Kansas City Airport Hotel and Convention Center. Attendees participated in the two-day event, which included CE sessions focused on Medicare star ratings and medication synchronization.

Achieving Peak Performance was the title of the SoftWriters 2014 User’s Conference. The 6th annual edition moved to Las Vegas this year. There was a full slate of general sessions focusing both on SoftWriters’ newest offerings and updates on industry issues.